Bambi is surely biased by her eternal love for her dad, but for the close readers who happen to personally know him or those who read about him on this blog (see further below), you know how amazing of a man he is. On the eve of Fathers’ Day, and always, she wishes him lots of continuous well-being and much happiness ❤️.
As for you dear readers, long live your own father, father or stepfather of your children, if this applies (whether on earth or in heaven). May you be healthy and happy yourself, this weekend and all year long, especially if you are a dad (or about to become one), a grandfather, a father-in-law, or any paternal figure.
With or without children, if you have a heart filled with empathy and love, you understood the essence of life. Thank you. Please keep being connected to your humanity. Our troubled world needs your authentic heart and fairness. Of course, remember to love yourself while cherishing others and enjoying your journey of life!
In this post, with the assistance of her online friend Mr. Google Translate, Bambi will quickly translate for you a thoughtful column by Ms. Natalie Elgrably published today in the Journal de Montréal (https://shorturl.at/7Ljpy) about Bill C-63. Indeed, as Ms. Elgrably clearly expressed it, this bill will make us all vulnerable. Thank you for writing about this topic. Food for thought… especially ahead of any federal election in the future.
“I have already written about Bill C-63 on “online harm”, tabled by the Trudeau Liberals. This law is currently in second reading and nothing seems to slow down its inevitable march towards adoption.
However, under the guise of wanting to protect children, this bill is nothing less than a crude lure, a real idiot trap to make us accept a bill which assassinates freedom of expression and democracy, and which will create a deleterious social climate.
Hell
On the one hand, most of the bill does not target children, but rather “hate propaganda” and actions “motivated by hatred”. However, the vague outline of this definition invites subjective readings, and therefore the instrumentalization of the bill for ideological or political ends.
On the other hand, the bill is retroactive and without time limit. Therefore any content produced before the bill, and still available online, could be subject to prosecution for “hate propaganda”.
Finally, the bill lprovides for the criminalization of words even before they are spoken. Nothing less! In the hell that is being prepared for us, it will be enough for anyone to denounce an individual under the pretext that he could possibly make potentially hateful comments for this individual to be brought to justice.
To make matters worse, if the bill is adopted, it will be applied even before an ombudsman is appointed, which would make any recourse in the event of litigation or abuse practically impossible.
Terror
Trudeau is preparing the establishment of a permanent climate of terror which will force self-censorship. Because this bill is not only cancel culture at its peak, it is the criminalization of thought.
This means the death of democracy and the establishment of arbitrariness which will make every Canadian highly vulnerable.
This is the Inquisition, version 2.0.
And there is no point arguing that this law is in the interest of the population. Censorship only benefits the person who establishes it!“
Bambi made a recent discovery, which she called “a musical Acadian treasure“. The name of this precious artistic treasure is Mr. Mathieu Lewis. This post is meant to share his inspiring talent with you, dear readers.
In addition to being passionate about philosophy and education, Mr. Lewis is uniquely gifted in songwriting, music performance, and singing. When Bambi listened to his songs for the first time, she was both impressed and moved by this Moncton-based artist. Yes, she immediately fell in love with his music.
In all the YouTube videos shared below, we hear Mr. Lewis’ voice singing his own compositions while playing the guitar. In the firstvideo, he performs with other highly talented peers: Ms. Laurence Larochelle (voice ), Mr. Kevin Lewis (guitar, voice). Mr. Jonathan Lewis (bass, voice), Mr. Matt Boudreau (percussions, voice). Bravo to all of them.
As you would notice yourself, especially if you understand French, the lyrics of Mr. Lewis’ songs are deep while sounding like music to the ears. Indeed, his diction is filled with beauty, namely because of the simplicity, accuracy, and creativity behind his choice of words. The latter seem to be in great harmony with Lewis’ skills in guitar playing.
Of note, in 2019, Mr. Mathieu Lewis won the ChansonStar competition at the prestigious Caraquet Song Gala with his composition L’éteinciel (what a clever play on words) . In the grande finale, Ms. Katrine Noël, from the Les Hay Babies group performed Mr. Lewis’ composition. His winning song was determined 70% by the competition jury and 30% by public voting (https://shorturl.at/mXZ5X).
Please Mr. Mathieu Lewis keep writing songs, composing music, singing, and sharing with all of us. Your talent is a richness not just for Atlantic Canada, especially its Acadian music and culture, but also for the entire world!
A ray of hope with the academic pushback to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies!
Bambi has often criticized the DEI-based academic hiring practices and grant writing policies of the federally-funded research in Canada, as per old posts shown further below.
Over the current and past year, she even found herself declining two Canadian Health Research (CIHR) grant reviewing invitations because she did not want to provide answers to identity-based questions. For her, the expertise of reviewers is what matters. No, it is not any of the other characteristics of whom they are (religion, origins, race, sexual orientation, etc.). This is why she asked if the CIHR to put a note in her file about the latter. As soon as DEI policies are reversed, she would be honoured and delighted to help with reviewing processes again.
Bearing the above in mind, Bambi is thankful for Ms. Jamie Sarkonak’s article in the National Post about the academic pushback to the federally-imposed DEI policies in research funding (https://shorturl.at/u9G1C).
“The bad news: there is no plan to ramp down diversity-based funding and the use of racial quotas in the federally funded research landscape. The good news? More and more people have noticed — including the academics at the heart of the system.
In the latest development, about 40 Canadian university professors have recommended to the House of Commons that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in federally funded research be abolished. Such policies have multiplied within the three agencies responsible for funding research, known collectively as the Tri-Council, since the Liberals took office”.
Criticisms of DEI and its intrusion into research have also been raised by biochemist Geoff Horsman, social scientist David Haskell and chemist Leigh Revers, all of whom are professors who have written in Postmedia’s pages and all of whom signed the brief submitted to the House“.
To conclude this post filled with hope, Bambi will add that she is proud of be one of the co-signing 40 faculty members recommending to the House of Commons to abolish the DEI policies in research funding in Canada (https://shorturl.at/7FNrp). With much appreciation and gratefulness, she thanks Dr. Horsman as well as Dr. Haskell and Dr. Revers for this uplifting initiative. Best wishes!
The picture of Ms. Françoise Hardy was taken from Radio-Canada. May her memory be eternal…
On the evening of the “National Making Life Beautiful Day” (https://shorturl.at/Yqwng), Bambi learned about the death of Ms. Françoise Hardy at age 80 from the Journal de Montréal (https://shorturl.at/XoiKT).
Although this sad news makes the world less beautiful, especially to all her loved ones, Ms. Hardy’s music will thankfully transcend her death and loss. Thanks/Merci to her for having contributed to making our world nicer with her sweet melodies.
Indeed, France, the international francophonie, including Canada and Lebanon, and the world of music will miss her voice. As far as Bambi is concerned, she is grateful for Ms. Françoise Hardy’s talent and sensitivity in all her songs whether in French (subtitled in English below for your convenience), in English, or in German. May her soul rest in peace… and heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and fans.
Bambi is not confusing the dates, she can assure you.
Today is June 10th and its Jessy’s birthday. Happy Birthday to her with much love ❤️!
In two weeks, yes on June 24th, it would be the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (now called the Fête Nationale du Québec).
From the Canadian Encyclopedia (https://shorturl.at/uG9xN), one can read the following about this special day: “Held annually on 24 June, the Fête nationale du Québec (formerly known as Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day) has been a statutory holiday in Québec since 1925. Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day has been celebrated in North America since the early days of New France. Originally a religious celebration, it took a more patriotic turn in 1834 with Ludger Duvernay. The first Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parade took place in Montréal in 1843. Since 1984, the Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois (MNQ) has organized the festivities of the Fête nationale du Québec. Various francophone communities across Canada also celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day”.
Thank you, Mr. Nicola Ciccone for your lovely new song with a little hint to the Italian community of Québec :). Long live Bambi’s awesome childhood friend Jessy, music, summertime, the Canadian and international Francophonie, the Belle Province, and all the other French-speaking communities of Canada, including the Acadians and the Brayons (or people of Madawaska) in New Brunswick!
Bambi just read in India Today (https://shorturl.at/zz6Br) about the McGill graduating student who spat on the Dean and another faculty member while waking on the stage to get her diploma. Her motivation is apparently what she wrote on her sign: “Divest from Death“. By death, she meant Israel. A couple of years ago, this sign could have been about BLM or Climate Change. Today, it is about boycotting Israel or divestment from Israeli institutions, including universities of this country.
Whether the Dean and the professor truly received her saliva on them (luckily this did not happen during the coronavirus pandemic) is irrelevant here, despite the minimization of the incident by the university administrators. With the encampment protests on the university’s private property, the latter have seemed to be coward, maybe resistant, or maybe also limited in action by the Mayor of Montreal’s apparently favourable attitude toward the demonstrators or by court decisions, etc.
The irony is that a few homeless people have joined them in the encampment. Cleverly, they thought the city and the police will leave them alone now. They finally feel protected. Bambi learned the latter from TVA News two days ago (https://shorturl.at/ogxDz). The other related irony is that, in his column of May 16, 2024, Mr. Richard Martineau joked by giving homeless people the following advice: “Message to the homeless: if you don’t want the makeshift camps you set up all over the city to be dismantled, raise a Palestinian flag above your tents”. In other terms, a Palestinian flag would make them acceptable by the authorities or untouchable, so to speak. It turned out that there was truth in his funny piece advice.
This being said, Bambi is reporting the above while finding it deeply sad to see the misery of homeless people as well as the tragic suffering of the innocent Palestinian people (paying the price of both the actions of Hamas on the tragic October 7 and the harsh yet expected response of Israel, while being used/abused by those pretending to care for them). She happens to also see the absurd entitlement of some of Canada’s protesters and this is just an example. Of course, thankfully, she also sees that many genuinely care from a human perspective (not through a woke or a conformist lens).
To come back to the story of this graduating student, Bambi finds it sad and worrisome to think that our higher education system is producing graduates with such an impolite attitude or behaviour. One day, this lady and others will become the leaders of our society and country. She hopes that they will gain more perspective, wisdom, and diplomacy in the future. Of note, she is saying so, regardless of the cause du jour. This time, this incident is about boycotting Israel. Tomorrow about what?
To conclude this post, Bambi will allow herself to borrow the wise words of the late grandma of her brother-in-law. She used to say: “Even Jesus did not rally all the people around him when he came to the world: some believed he was the Messiah. Some did not“. This means that any topic or story will result in some people cheering for it and others condemning it (and many others indifferent or without any opinion). To illustrate the latter phenomenon, Bambi will share two comments by India Today’s readers (https://shorturl.at/zz6Br): the first was “Take away her degree. Don’t tolerate this. Shameful gesture needs to be punished“. The second is “Great for the students who have the integrity and courage to stand up against zionazism, unlike the Modi”. And you, what do you think of such ways of protesting or expressing a political opinion, regardless of the latter? Is this expression healthy and wise? And, if not, what could have been done alternatively or elsewhere?
Yesterday, Bambi listened to her favourite Lebanese-American radio station while at work. She discovered a Lebanese singer, called Mr. Joe Ashkar, and his recent joyful song about Beirut. She enjoyed listening to this melody. She was able to find its nice Youtube video clip, which may be perhaps a bit cliché at its end with a sort of a spiritual hint of mosques and church bells all united in calling for the celebration of Beirut. However, the images are accurate. They show the downtown of Beirut with some of its beautiful places of worship. Mind you, in some areas of Beirut, it is not uncommon to notice a wall being shared by a church and a mosque (on one if its sides, it is the former. On its other side, the latter).
Of course, Beirut-born Bambi is biased in this post because she misses her loved ones in Beirut. Nevertheless, Mr. Joe Ashkar is right: the capital of Lebanon is charming. Thus, people miss it and want to re-visit it. As Ashkar’s song goes, “we dream of a new Lebanon where we can sing and rejoice to be back. We want to be happy. We want to live. We want Beirut to sing with us… I miss Beirut so much. I miss its boys and girls, along with its parties“.
Happy spring/summer to all of you, especially to the five readers who recently shared with Bambi their excitement to travel to Beirut in the coming weeks. Be safe and enjoy!
To what extent do you genuinely, and thus consistently, care for others, whether your close ones or people in general? In other terms, do you care to connect with others in a kind or human way?
Now, what about yourself? How well do you know yourself? Do you currently feel connected to your inner values and to whom you truly are? Do you respect and love yourself? Do you know how to forgive yourself after mistakes? Do you respect others and generously care for them without losing yourself in the process? If so, to what extent are you currently taking good care of yourself? And what about your life in general: do you care to keep loving it and living it to its fullest extent, despite its challenges, past or current losses, and throughout your journey of self-growth?
If you answered yes to at least one of the questions raised above, the theme of care may be of interest to you. You may be perhaps even amused to know that care happens to be today’s theme. Yes, June 7 has been proclaimed by God knows whom (hopefully someone who cares for us :)] as the World Caring Day. If you are like Bambi, you may wonder what is so special about the World Caring Day? And do we really need such a day if we truly and consistently care for others?
Anyhow, it seems that the World’s Caring Day “shines a spotlight on all the ways we connect and show each other how much we care. Afterall, we should always take time to celebrate the millions of acts of caring we see. All acts of caring, whether big or small, are important. Caring is continuous and happens every day through compassion, support, kindness and understanding” (https://shorturl.at/xfs1B).
Of course, as highlighted above, there are so many ways that can show our care for both ourselves and for others. We can teach others how to treat us through our values, such as self-respect, and our healthy boundaries in our relationships with them. Some of these ways may be tiny gestures like appreciating the present moment, whatever it is, and being grateful. Some other ways may be a smile or a sincere hello to someone on the street or saying hi back in an elevator. We could be considerate with total strangers, neighbours, or with people we may have lost contact with. Of course, care could be bigger acts like standing up for others or concretely supporting them or being there for them in their times of joy as well as sorrow.
All this being said, with much “care”, Bambi will stop here to leave you with three French songs meant to celebrate the people we love (two of them are sub-titled in English). May you enjoy taking care of yourself while expressing your humanity by caring for others.
80 years have passed since June 6, 1944. Time flies, isn’t it?
As described by History.com (https://shorturl.at/541yp), “D-Day was the name given to the June 6, 1944, invasion of the beaches at Normandy in northern France by troops from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries during World War II. France at the time was occupied by the armies of Nazi Germany, and the amphibious assault—codenamed Operation Overlord—landed some 156,000 Allied soldiers on the beaches of Normandy by the end of the day“.
Thanks to all these soldiers for their unforgettable service and sacrifice.
